Care packages for lunch boxes

Brandi is natural born food lover of anything from gourmet cheeses and wine down to plain baked breads. When not in the kitchen cooking, she loves to be outdoors, especially near the ocean. She puts her focus mainly on healthy organic ea...

A fun lunch box surprise

Sometimes daily pre-packaged lunches can get boring quick. Here, we share ideas on how to spruce up that boring lunch box with this adorable secret lunch box care package. Filling cute boxes with healthy treats will put a smile on any child's face.

Why not make your little one feel extra special when she opens up her lunch box? In just a few minutes, you can fill Ziploc snack baggies with treats (and a great homemade recipe!) to surprise your son or daughter at lunch. To finish off the care package, attach a cute personalized tag to go along with the surprise.

The concept is simple: Just think of your child’s favorite snacks, and then fill baggies with everything he loves. Some ideas include:

Fresh fruit, such as grapes, apple slices or cherries

Trail mix, banana chips or other dried fruits like raisins

Animal crackers

Pretzels

Crackers with peanut butter

A small piece of candy to enjoy after the school day, such as a lollipop

Fruit bars or fruit snacks

Cheese cubes

Fresh veggies, such as carrots, celery or cucumbers

A homemade treat made by Mom herself, such as a healthy cookie or a homemade muffin

Easy blueberry muffins recipe

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon for garnish

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup vanilla almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.

In a bowl, add the flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, add the butter and sugar, and cream together. Add in the eggs, vanilla, oil and almond milk and mix well.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix well. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter and fill each muffin tin with the mixture. Sprinkle extra sugar over the tops and bake for 20 minutes.

diy tag:

You can use anything to create a cute little tag, such as construction paper or leftover gift wrap. Or you can even cut out a fun shape out of paper you have on hand. Write a fun note and attach it to the package.